Karachi: Remittances from overseas Pakistanis are expected to reach USD 44 billion in the fiscal year 2026-27, an increase from the record remittances of USD 41.5 billion received in the previous fiscal, the country’s central bank said Friday.
Addressing a press conference, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jamil Ahmed said that despite making foreign payments of over USD 5 billion in the last fiscal year, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have exceeded USD 18 billion.
The SBP governor also said that due to several measures to stabilise the economy over the past four years, Pakistan’s external debt has remained stable at around the USD 100 billion mark.
He added that new schemes are being introduced to make fund transfers even easier for overseas Pakistanis.
Under these schemes, no additional financial burden will be placed on the remitters, as the transaction costs will be borne by the banks themselves, he said.
He said that between 2015 and 2022, Pakistan’s external debt grew at an average of USD 6 billion annually; however, since 2022, it has maintained a level of approximately USD 100 billion.
The increase in foreign exchange reserves is not merely due to loans, but is the result of better economic management and improvements in the external sector, the governor said.
Ahmed further said exports are expected to increase in the current fiscal year, while inflows through the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) are also on the rise.
RDA is a central bank facility allowing overseas Pakistanis to open and operate a bank account in the country entirely online, without visiting a branch or embassy.
The monthly inflows into RDA have risen from USD 200 million over the last three months to exceed USD 300 million, Ahmed said.